NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR PRESENTS AWARDS TO INNOVATIVE TEACHERS USING THE INTERNET EFFECTIVELY IN CLASSROOMS

Their Students Are Using the Web to Clean Up Creeks, Study Bats and Identify Math Tutors

Sept. 23, 1998 -- National Semiconductor Corporation? today announced the winners of its Internet Innovator Awards. The awards were given to 11 teachers, recognizing the effective ways they are using the Internet in their classrooms.

Winning teachers received $10,000 for their personal use, and their schools were awarded $20,000 to spend on technology training. National, which makes integrated circuits for devices that access the Internet such as personal computers, laptops and information appliances, has committed to spend $1 million over the next three years on Internet Innovator Awards.

The winning teachers are from California, Texas and Maine, where National has a major manufacturing presence. The winners and a synopsis of their projects are as follows:

California

• Catherine Chowenhill from Walter Hays Elementary in Palo Alto: "Monsters, Mondrian and Me." Students improved their writing skills by drawing an image and attempting to clearly describe it to others in cyberspace.
  
  
• Kathleen Lincoln from Chaboya Middle School in San Jose: "A Culinary Trip Around the World." Students used the Internet to go on a culinary tour of the world, learning about eating habits, world hunger and food pyramids in foreign countries.
  
  
• Jack Reynolds from Cabrillo Middle School in Santa Clara: "Saratoga Creek Water Quality Project." Students gathered data on a local creek and used the Internet to communicate with scientists and other students whose schools border the creek.
  
  
• Shannon Taylor and Letha Pretre from Farallone View Elementary in Half Moon Bay: "Oceans Project: What's in Your Ocean?" Students used hands-on experiences and the Internet to explore the ocean. They worked with other students and scientists to determine what lies in the deep blue of their backyards.

Texas

• Cheryl Ballou and Linda Havins from Shepton High in Plano: "Surfin' Safari." Students "traveled to Africa" via the Internet and learned more about the geography and cultures of Africa than they could before.
  
  
• Stefanie Kahl from Dunn Elementary in Arlington: "Math Buddies." This project takes advantage of the Internet to pair students so they can share their processes for solving math problems.

Maine

• Fred Koerber from Brunswick Junior High in Brunswick: "Webbing the Curriculum." Students used the Web to research, create and publish their own history textbook online.
  
  
• Laura Richter from Skowhegan Middle School in Skowhegan: "Modern World Explorers...Navigate and Connect Your Hometown to the Global Community!" Students learned firsthand about the realities of cultures in South America and worked together to create rich multimedia projects and Web sites.
  
  
• Mona Schlein and Deborah Barrows from Wiscasset Primary School in Wiscasset: "All About Bats, A First Grade Journey." First graders learned the value of the Internet for research and communication as they studied bats.
  
  
• Robert Simmons, Karen White and Paula Parsons from Durham Elementary and Middle School in Durham. Students used the Internet to tell others about the advantages of their hometown of Durham.
  
  
• Lynda Stofan from Memorial Middle School in South Portland: "Scholar Ships...Or, What do Sixth Grade Students and Aircraft Carriers Have in Common?" Sixth graders used the Internet to communicate with service people aboard the U.S.S. Nimitz, improving their communication and geography skills.

The teachers' applications were evaluated by a panel of judges who are experts in education technology. There were 114 entries submitted.

"We were very impressed with the efforts of the winning educators. These teachers are helping to show other educators how the Internet can be used as a unique and valuable tool in education," said Dr. Sue Talley, visiting faculty member from Pepperdine University who served as one of the judges Using the Internet. "Students can do research and communicate with others in ways that are not possible with any other educational resources."

National's Internet Innovator Awards is one component of the company's Internet Training Initiative for teachers. Other aspects of the program include Global Connections, a leader-led training course showing teachers how to use the Internet to enhance their curriculum, and Global Connections Online, a free, Web-based course enabling teachers anywhere in the world to log on and take the course.

National established the initiative when studies revealed a critical need for teacher training in technology. In 1997, for example, over $5 billion was spent to wire schools to access the Internet and purchase hardware for classrooms. However, research showed that only 15 percent of teachers have been adequately trained to use the technology in their schools, and 80 percent identified "lack of training" as the primary obstacle to Internet use.

"National wanted to help fill the gap and encourage the use of this incredibly powerful resource," said Brian Halla, National's Chairman, President and CEO. "The Internet brings a whole world of learning to students' fingertips."

Next year's Internet Innovator Awards will be presented in September 1999, and teachers may apply now through April 2. Visit www.nsawards.com for more information on the program and the application process.

National Semiconductor Corporation produces system-on-a-chip silicon solutions for the information highway, based on its leadership in analog and mixed signal technologies. National is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and focuses on the communications, personal systems and consumer markets. National has annual sales of approximately $2.5 billion and 13,000 employees worldwide. Additional company and product information is available on the World Wide Web at www.national.com.